The approaches described in this section could be pursued, but are not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
A computer network generally includes a number of different network devices. For example, the network may include network infrastructure devices, such as switches and routers, as well as end station devices, such as desktop machines, servers, hosts, printers, fax machines, and others network resources. In order for the computer network to function properly, network administrators monitor the various devices, deploying new devices or upgrading existing ones in the network. In addition, the network administrator is responsible for configuration management of the network and manages distribution of software on the network. Typically, a network administrator employs a network management system to accomplish such tasks.
A network management system (NMS) is a software program, or a combination of hardware and software, that perform tasks related to assisting the network administrator manage the network. The NMS sometimes includes network inventory and analysis tools, such as a network collector, in order to gather information about managed devices on the network. In a typical configuration, a seed file is programmed into the network collector. The seed file identifies network devices for the network collector to track. In order to track the network devices, the network collector routinely logs into devices identified by the seed file to collect hardware inventory, software configurations, and other network device information.
Typically, the network collector gathers the network information via Simple-Network Management Protocol (SNMP) requests and/or Command-Line Interface (CLI) commands. In some instances, the network collector may also be configured to gather system log (“syslog”) data. Many network devices are configured to send syslog messages to an event collector, such as a syslog server, in response to specific events. The syslog protocol separates the content of a message from the transport of the message. In other words, the device sending the syslog message does not require any communication from the devices transporting or logging the message. This enables devices, which would otherwise be unable to communicate, to notify network administrators of problems. The syslog standard is documented in Request for Comments (RFC) 3164 and RFC 5424 of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).
The network collector may store the collected data locally on a device executing the network collector or transmit the collected data to a remote location for further analysis. The collected data may then be used to inventory, analyze, and configure network devices. Thus, the network collector helps the network administrator efficiently manage a large number of network devices. An example of a network collector is Cisco Network Collector, commercially available from Cisco Systems, Inc., San Jose, Calif.
Network support services (“smart services”) may be used to manage collected data and network devices. For example, Cisco Smart Services, commercially available from Cisco Systems, Inc., support network technologies deployed in a network. Smart services typically analyze network information and generate reports to identify any network issues. A service provider who offers smart services and the owner or operator of a network may have a vendor-customer relationship. Although the smart services may be highly valuable, many users of networks, such as government agencies, financial institutions, and other organizations, are concerned with privacy and are reluctant to send private network parameters outside of their private network, even if these parameters are encrypted. In addition, certain customers, such as banks and some government agencies, may be prohibited by law from sending private network information overseas.